Need help with research project

[Orwar]

2 minutes ago, purrrkitten said:

Meh. Academics tend to go from university to university and have never experienced the real world.

This is a general observation. I obviously don't know anything about OP.

   But is there a study of how experienced academics are of the real world, though? 

   .. Sounds like a good activity to spread some pseudo-philosophical existential dread. 

[purrrkitten]

1 minute ago, Orwar said:

But is there a study of how experienced academics are of the real world, though? 

🤷‍♀️

You can observe how well they function when they leave academia and try to get a job outside of it. 

[Paul Hexem]

11 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

Heh.   We may have traveled in different circles, or maybe different disciplines. I directed quite a number of doctoral projects over the years. Yes, I've seen a small number of candidates who seem to have been admitted by mistake. At the opposite end of the spectrum, I've met a handful of truly inspired scholars. On average, though, people who make it through the filter into a doctoral program are pretty solid thinkers. Apprentices, to be sure, but definitely not morons.

 

8 minutes ago, purrrkitten said:

Meh. Academics tend to go from university to university and have never experienced the real world.

This is a general observation. I obviously don't know anything about OP.

@purrrkitten gets what I'm saying.

They're incredibly knowledgeable and yet somehow still so dumb.

[Rolig Loon]

11 minutes ago, purrrkitten said:

Academics tend to go from university to university and have never experienced the real world.

Thank you for the soft qualifying verb "tend". 😉  Stereotypes can't exist without a germ of truth somewhere, and the Ivory Tower stereotype does fit some academics. Just be careful about generalizations. While you're at it,  be careful about defining which parts of the world are "real" and about assuming that the parts don't overlap.

5 minutes ago, purrrkitten said:

You can observe how well they function when they leave academia and try to get a job outside of it. 

Quite well, actually, but we digress.  We're starting to leave the topic of the thread behind.

[purrrkitten]

2 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

Thank you for the soft qualifying verb "tend". 😉  Stereotypes can't exist without a germ of truth somewhere, and the Ivory Tower stereotype does fit some academics. Just be careful about generalizations. While you're at it,  be careful about defining which parts of the world are "real" and about assuming that the parts don't overlap.

Quite well, actually, but we digress.  We're starting to leave the topic of the thread behind.

I guess I've won since you've resorted to correcting my grammar. Either way, I'm speaking from my experience and giving my opinion. I'm allowed to have opinions whether you think I'm right or wrong.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, purrrkitten said:

I guess I've won since you've resorted to correcting my grammar. Either way, I'm speaking from my experience and giving my opinion. I'm allowed to have opinions whether you think I'm right or wrong.

Rolig did not correct your grammar: she thanked you for saying that academics "tend" to do this, rather than that they always do.

And yes, you are of course entitled to your opinion: no one has suggested otherwise.

[Sid Nagy]

2 hours ago, bigmoe Whitfield said:

you need to spend at least a year in and sitting in the social area, human, furry, ect. to find out why people are here in SL,  this is not some funky junky mmorpg,  I feel insulted one would suggest that.

We Second Life minions are there to help students get easy to chew results for their study. What else?

[Sid Nagy]

1 hour ago, LittleMe Jewell said:

Ditto

Not too mention that the folks that visit the forums are a very, very small percentage of the total SL population.

But they are the best of the best one can find!
Right?

 

Edited March 14, 2022 by Sid Nagy

[Scylla Rhiadra]

43 minutes ago, animats said:

Log into Second Life. Find one of the big role-playing areas. Cocoon, Insilico, and Crack Den are good examples. They all have character classes.

This is an appealing idea in some ways -- although, I'd be wary of sending someone inexperienced in SL to a place like the Crack Den without some pretty serious prep beforehand about what they are likely to find there.

The problem, again, is that what happens in RP areas such as those you describe is really not particularly "typical" of SL. I'm not suggesting that it's rare: there is a great deal of RP here. But generalizing about SL on the basis of niche communities such as these is going to badly distort the overall picture of the platform and how it is used. Most particularly, the kind of identity creation that occurs in RP communities is very different, and much more constrained and artificial, than that which occurs more generally across the entire platform.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

15 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

While you're at it,  be careful about defining which parts of the world are "real" and about assuming that the parts don't overlap.

I am always amused at the idea that academics aren't in the "real" world -- as though a university environment, where one connects on all sorts of levels with perhaps hundreds of students and researchers a year, all from different walks of life, is any less "real," or more "insulated," than a factory floor, or dentist's office, or a flower shop.

Edited March 14, 2022 by Scylla Rhiadra
#(%*$#*# typos!

[purrrkitten]

Just now, Scylla Rhiadra said:

I am always amused as the idea that academics aren't in the "real" world -- as though a university environment, where one connects on all sorts of levels with perhaps hundreds of students and researchers a year, all from different walks of life, is any less "real," or more "insulated," than a factory floor, or dentist's office, or a flower shop.

A college campus is a closed off and controlled environment. It has a very different culture than the real world.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Just now, purrrkitten said:

A college campus is a closed off and controlled environment. It has a very different culture than the real world.

So is a factory.

Academics aren't caged up at night: they go home and watch Netflix, or play video games, or read books, or meet friends for coffee, or . . . OMG!!! . . . log in to SL!

They aren't some sort of rarified breed of human. They have specialized knowledge and skills -- just as an engineer or a doctor or an auto-mechanic does. It no more constrains or defines them than any other vocational field does.

[animats]

8 hours ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

This is an appealing idea in some ways -- although, I'd be wary of sending someone inexperienced in SL to a place like the Crack Den without some pretty serious prep beforehand about what they are likely to find there.

The problem, again, is that what happens in RP areas such as those you describe is really not particularly "typical" of SL.

Good point. For contrast, he could visit BeYou, which is the relaxed end of SL roleplay.

(One of the possible things to study about SL is why people go to a lot of trouble to replicate American suburbia, and what they get out of it. I haven't seen a study written since Bellessaria was built.)

Edited March 15, 2022 by animats

[Rolig Loon]

1 minute ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

But generalizing about SL on the basis of niche communities such as these is going to badly distort the overall picture of the platform and how it is used. Most particularly, the kind of identity creation that occurs in RP communities is very different, and much more constrained and artificial, than that which occurs more generally across the entire platform.

Yes, and this gets back to the comment I made earlier about making too many assumptions about the scope of the OP's project. For all we know, he could be interested in a very narrow question like: "How do members of RP communities in Second Life and other on-line platforms differ in the way they define 'role play'?" rather than trying to study SL as a MMOPRG.  All we know about the OP's project is in the few sentences he shared at the top of the thread.  We've offered some good advice about ways to help frame a study and a few warnings about where there may be pitfalls to avoid.  Beyond that, I think it's unfair to assume that the project -- which is probably just in an exploratory phase right now anyway -- is poorly framed and bound for disaster.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

Just now, animats said:

Good point. For contrast, he could visit BeYou, which is the relaxed end of SL roleplay.

(One of the possible things to study about SL is why people go to a lot of trouble to replicated American suburbia, and what they get out of it. I haven't seen a study written since Bellessaria was built.)

Good idea. Also, a trip to Fogbound where they can spend an hour batting off "You want the sekksies?" IMs might provide some insights.

Really good point about Belli: it's something I don't "get" myself, although I DO love the communities that have been built by some people there. I think you're right: a study of the appeal of such communities would be fascinating.

[Scylla Rhiadra]

2 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

Yes, and this gets back to the comment I made earlier about making too many assumptions about the scope of the OP's project. For all we know, he could be interested in a very narrow question like: "How do members of RP communities in Second Life and other on-line platforms differ in the way they define 'role play'?" rather than trying to study SL as a MMOPRG.  All we know about the OP's project is in the few sentences he shared at the top of the thread.  We've offered some good advice about ways to help frame a study and a few warnings about where there may be pitfalls to avoid.  Beyond that, I think it's unfair to assume that the project -- which is probably just in an exploratory phase right now anyway -- is poorly framed and bound for disaster.

Very true. This is what the preamble to the survey says:

Quote

At the University of Barcelona, we are conducting a study about virtual identity. If you are a regular MMORPG player, we would be glad if you chose to participate.

What is this study about?

We want to know more about how players construct their identity through their online videogame characters. We are trying to identify the different ways in which players create their virtual characters and which traits are more related to certain kinds of virtual identities.

The assumption that this is about "role playing," as opposed to a more fluid kind of identity creation, isn't really clear, but may be built into the focus upon MMORPGs?

You're right: at the moment it's all just speculation on our part -- and in that sense, @animats's original suggestion may actually be very relevant and to the point.

Or not! I wonder if, at this point, even the OP knows? All part of the joys of early-stage research!

[Arielle Popstar]

10 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Good idea. Also, a trip to Fogbound where they can spend an hour batting off "You want the sekksies?" IMs might provide some insights.

 

How likely is that with a brand new account and avatar?

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, Arielle Popstar said:

How likely is that with a brand new account and avatar?

Point! Maybe prep for new students of SL should include a module on the ins and outs of clubbing!

[Rolig Loon]

1 minute ago, Arielle Popstar said:

12 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Good idea. Also, a trip to Fogbound where they can spend an hour batting off "You want the sekksies?" IMs might provide some insights.

 

How likely is that with a brand new account and avatar?

Not very, but I suspect that Scylla had her tongue firmly in her cheek.  🙄

[Arielle Popstar]

5 minutes ago, Rolig Loon said:

Not very, but I suspect that Scylla had her tongue firmly in her cheek.  🙄

Yes but the OP may not have caught that and developed expectations for some "sekksies."

[Paul Hexem]

36 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Academics aren't caged up at night

Now there's an idea. 

[Scylla Rhiadra]

1 minute ago, Paul Hexem said:

Now there's an idea. 

Darling boy . . .  That's so kinky!!!

[Paul Hexem]

1 minute ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Darling boy . . .  That's so kinky!!!

My theories on linking academics to liberals to the definition of consent would take us so far off topic...

[Rowan Amore]

51 minutes ago, Scylla Rhiadra said:

Also, a trip to Fogbound where they can spend an hour batting off "You want the sekksies?"

I must be doing something wrong as this never happens to me there.  😥😪

[Arielle Popstar]

5 minutes ago, Rowan Amore said:

I must be doing something wrong as this never happens to me there.  😥😪

Perhaps one needs to look like they would bury more then just their tongue in cheek.😏